Atlanta Sent Out a Veteran Center for Wing Shooting
Atlanta moved Dewayne Dedmon to Detroit on November 20, 2020, acquiring Tony Snell and Khyri Thomas. The Hawks were revising their supporting cast around Trae Young and wanted perimeter help while reducing an obligation tied to Dedmon's contract. Snell arrived with established shooting and defensive experience, whereas Thomas was more of a low-cost option than an assumed rotation regular. Detroit received a veteran center and associated flexibility. The two clubs were not exchanging equivalent long-term starters; much of the decision depended on how they would handle the incoming contracts and whether those players actually appeared.
Snell Supplied Forty-Seven Games and Exceptional Accuracy
Snell became a real member of Atlanta's 2020-21 rotation. He played 47 games, starting 23, and shot 56.9 percent on three-point attempts. His role was modest in scoring volume, but reliable spot-up accuracy made him useful beside Young's creation. The Hawks then reached the Eastern Conference Finals that spring, giving Snell's receiving-team contribution a meaningful postseason context without claiming he led the run. His earlier Detroit production wasn't Atlanta value. Thomas, the other incoming guard, was waived days after the transaction, so the basketball return was essentially Snell rather than two functioning rotation pieces.
Detroit Did Not Get Games From Dedmon
The Pistons waived Dedmon shortly after the November transaction. He therefore provided no Detroit regular-season production through this acquisition, regardless of what he had done in Atlanta before the swap or for his next teams. That distinction is unusually important when assessing a deal whose outgoing player had a recognizable résumé. Detroit could have roster and financial reasons for processing the contract, but a bookkeeping result is not an additional frontcourt rotation contribution. Likewise, the trade exception in the record is flexibility subject to its actual later use, not a player who already played games for Detroit.
The Real On-Court Return Came Only to Atlanta
The Hawks obtained one reliable wing whose shooting helped a playoff lineup, while Detroit did not use its incoming veteran center in competition. Snell's limited volume prevents the swap from earning an extravagant grade, and the waiving of Thomas narrows Atlanta's return. Nevertheless, forty-seven games of exceptionally accurate outside shooting are plainly more than Detroit received on the court from Dedmon. The verdict also respects the deal's cap and roster context without trying to assign unrelated later careers to either team. Atlanta made better use of the player it actually kept.
Final Verdict
Hawks Win. Atlanta earns B for Tony Snell's 47 regular-season games and 56.9 percent three-point shooting on a team that reached the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals. Khyri Thomas was waived without becoming a rotation contributor. Detroit receives C+ chiefly for contract flexibility because it waived Dewayne Dedmon without any Pistons games. The Hawks secured the trade's measurable receiving-team production.